Multi Jurisdictional Litigation

Goal Conference 28.04.2015

Vikas Goyal

Vice President & Head Legal

Ferrero India Private Limited

Where are the disputes happening

Trends

Hogan Lovells’ leading Litigation and Arbitration practice carried out a survey on cross border disputes

Survey included 146 senior lawyers and executives across 18 industries from the world’s largest multinational corporations

The key findings and trends revealed by the survey are given in forthcoming slides

Countries involved in cross border disputes & those that were most challenging

Regions involved in cross border disputes and those that were most challenging

Main sources of cross border disputes

What are the disputes about

Areas of law in which cross border disputes occur most frequently

Challenges of Multijurisdictional Litigation

Finding experienced counsel

Lack of familiarity with territories involved

Managing Differences in legal systems

Coordinating local counsel across jurisdictions

Board scrutiny intensifying around cross border disputes

Concerns relating to multijurisdictional litigation

Impact on-going business

Uncertainty

Exposure / Liability

Reputational Risk

Cost

Managing Multijurisdictional Litigation

Effectively Managing Disputes

Strategic Initiatives

Delivering results through efficient project

management

• Litigation is like any major business undertaking.

• Project management techniques allows lawyers to:

– scope the litigation,

– budget it rigorously,

– identify the timeline,

– work with clients to deliver what has been agreed, at the time that it has been agreed, and on budget.

• Use a project manager to

– report,

– monitor,

– and assess developments on a case

Early case assessment: steps to success

• How much are those issues worth to your company?

• What do you need to assert your position effectively and put pressure on your opponent to back down?

• Who and where is your key witness? What and where are your key documents? What are your best legal arguments?

• Identify clearly the commercial benefits and risks of escalating a dispute to formal litigation. How do they balance?

• What is your exit strategy from litigation? Once you have begun the litigation, how can you stop it?

• Early case assessment is a project management tool that answers these questions in an analytical, commercial, and cost-effective way.

Cooperating with other defendants

• Plaintiffs will often sue multiple defendants.

• To ensure that privileges are maintained, consider entering into joint defense agreements at the more global and local levels.

• Defendants can often settle their respective liabilities at the same stage they settle with plaintiffs.

• In multi-jurisdictional litigation, this process will be complicated, but may lend itself to a series of defense arrangements, based on subsets of cases grouped by common defendants, or perhaps where common plaintiffs’ counsel is on the other side of a series of proceedings

Public relations strategies

• Retain national counsel to coordinate and monitor all cases.

• Communications and public relations representatives can be an integral part of your defense team.

• This will be important from the perspective of :

– staying abreast of the filing of new cases around the country,

– monitoring case developments

– how those developments are being portrayed in traditional and social media

– determining the how and when to publicize the company’s message.

• The timing and manner in which your company attempts to preempt anticipated negative reporting as damage control, or decides to strategically respond to mounting media attention may impact on litigation in one or more forums.

• Staying on top of the way case developments are being reported by various media in the different jurisdictions where cases are pending will help to integrate your communications and legal positions.

• Significant litigation strategies that could adversely reflect on the company’s image should be vetted with your communications representatives;

• Company press releases should be run by your in-house and/or national counsel before being released; and your local counsel should be instructed concerning permissible and off-limit interactions with the media.

Conclusion

• Cross-border disputes have become a reality Social Media

Internet

High Level of Awareness

• Exposure Enormous – Cost and Reputation

Cascading Effect

• Glocalization Promoting consistency and Global Strategies

AND [At same time]

RM – RS - Relevant Market - Relevant Strategy